What If?
by MisterTompson
Summary: What if? A very big question when it comes to history. In this case, the question is what would happen if humanity had done things differently? What if they hadn't discovered the Prothean facility on Mars? What if their technology had gone in a completely different direction, only discovering Element Zero after interstellar travel? AU
1. Intro

**WARNING: This is my first fanfiction, so there is a high probability that I will mess up somewhere. In that case, please leave a review stating where and what I did wrong, and I will at least try to correct it.**

Summary: What if? A very big question when it comes to history. In this case, the question is what would happen if humanity had done things differently? What if they hadn't discovered the Prothean facility on Mars? What if their technology had gone in a completely different direction, only discovering Element Zero after interstellar travel? AU

AN: I've already said it in the summary, but I will state it again anyway. This is a VERY AU fic. Humanity will be extremely different from the ME universe, and this will cause some massive differences in the timeline and such. Also, this first chapter is only a timeline and tech info for to establish what humanity is like. I will be uploading the first actual chapter very shortly (read a couple minutes) after I upload this one, so sit tight if it isn't already up yet. I also promise that there won't ever be another infodump this size ever again.

Timeline:

2032: European nations put forth a proposal to the UN to unite the space programs of all UN nations to, hopefully, accomplish more.

2033: The UN accepts the proposal, and the United Nations Space Agency is created.

2038: On its 5 year anniversary, the UNSA announces plans for a manned mission to Mars. It will take many years and billions of dollars, but they are determined to get it done.

2046: Dr. Wilhelm Schoen creates the first "nano-bots". Although they are not true nano-bots, being just over a millimeter long, they are a step in the right direction.

2051: The first true nano-bot is created. The UNSA buys hundreds of tons of them for use on the Mars mission.

2053: It is announced that a launch date has been chosen for the mission to Mars. While the exact date is not announced due to the rising popularity of "earth first" terrorist groups, it is said to be in early 2055.

April 14, 2055: The first manned mission to mars is launched, with a crew of 5. It uses the latest in electromagnetic shielding, medical nano-bots, and plasma propulsion technology.

2056: The lander touches down on Mars, specifically in the Noctis Labyrinthus. The first words of Capt. Frank Shepard were "What? No evil aliens trying to rip my head off? That's boring."

2056-2057: After 2 months on Mars, the mission returns to earth. It is later revealed that there were at least 7 assassination attempts made on various crew members within a month of returning.

2059: Using the latest in medical nano, doctors have successfully created a "cure" for aging. While not perfect, it is estimated that the average human can now live up to 350 years.

2060-2075: A quiet time period, containing three more missions to Mars and continued development of various technologies, especially in the computer and nano-bot industries. Nano construction techniques quickly become quicker, cheaper, and more efficient that traditional factories, causing and upsurge in countries producing their own goods. Many developing countries try to shut this down due to the majority of their income being in cheap labor for factories, but they are unsuccessful.

2077: China withdraws from the UN, stating that there are "too many cultural differences to overcome for us to stay". It is unknown the real reason for the withdrawal.

2078-2080: various other East Asian nations withdraw from the UN, citing the same as China. It is believed they are being pressured by the Chinese for some reason.

2081: In a surprise move, China militarily conquers most of East Asia. Many people are worried about this move, as only South Korea, Japan, and Singapore are left unconquered. The UN Security Council quietly approves of a series of orbital strike satellites being launched under the guise of a science mission. The satellites are highly classified.

2084: Chinese military forces cross the border into South Korea. The UN promptly responds, sending troops and aid into the small country. In a highly classified meeting, the UN Security Council decides to move orbital strike satellites over China and the front line.

February 14, 2085: China launches a series of nuclear missiles into various UN nations. Most are stopped, however two missiles made it through, one hitting Moscow and the other hitting San Francisco. In retaliation, the UN Security Council approves the launch of orbital strikes on key Chinese strongholds and precision strikes on political centers.

2085-2087: After the orbital strikes, the Chinese war effort fell apart. The UN moves into china, dismantling the government and demilitarizing the entire country. The region is put under direct UN supervision "until the current humanitarian crisis is ended, and the nations can support themselves".

2087-2100: The entire East Asian region undergoes a surprising transformation. With UN supervision, a series of new countries form, creating an entirely new level of stability in the region. Some of the new countries include a reunited Korea, Tibet, South Mongolia, and East Turkistan. Surprisingly, the entirety of the region is completely democratic and all end up rejoining the UN. In other spheres, there are two more missions to Mars, and development starts on the first true AI.

2100-2115: Overpopulation starts to become a problem on earth. With medical nano-bots being able to cure most diseases (even cancer), and slowing aging, people simply aren't dying as much. Plans are made to help alleviate this problem, from terraforming Mars to creation of habitats in orbit of Earth. Also, the first cerebral implants are designed and injected into people using nano-bots. These implants allow for people to directly interface with computers via their mind.

2117: The first AI, named "Adam" is officially online. This is signaled by it asking the question "Am I alive?" It is said to have the intelligence of the average 8 year old.

2118: After 10 months of being online, Adam has already "grown up". Based on a series of tests and conversations with the AI, it is estimated that he (as the AI has a male personality) has the mental development of a 30 year old. Having unlimited access to the internet, he also has unofficial doctorates in everything.

2120: In a fit of boredom, Adam creates another AI. He names her Eve in the same vein that he was named. With Adam's assistance, Eve "grows up" in a matter of weeks.

2120-2130: AI technology starts to become commonplace, and after a couple years, AIs are firmly ingrained in human society. Further development of specialist AIs, who focus on specific tasks is initiated.

2131: A series of AI are commissioned by the UNSA to help in the development of various projects.

2133: After 2 years of development, the UNSA reveals in a press conference that they have finished the designing of a series of orbital habitats and space elevators. They will use centrifugal force to simulate gravity.

2135-2150: The orbital habitats are launched a piece at a time, and the elevator cables are dropped without problems. Also, a series of unmanned missions to Mars are launched with basic terra forming equipment to start changing the climate of the planet. It is later revealed that many of the "earth first" terrorist organizations are infiltrated and taken down in this time period.

2152: The first people move into the orbital habitats. It is praised as one of humanities greatest achievements.

2155-2180: More orbital habitats are built, in depth terraforming of Mars begins, and the first private company sends a mining probe to the asteroid belt. This is praised as the start of humanity's Golden Age.

2179: With numerous AIs assisting, the UNSA very quietly begins work on a Faster Than Light drive, based off the principles laid down by Miguel Alcubierre in 1994 (AN: Yes he is a real person and did hypothesize a way to achieve FTL travel).

2180-2200: Many companies start to mine asteroids, bringing in raw materials in the thousands of tons for nano-bot factories to make just about anything out of. Mars becomes terraformed enough to start planning for settlements. While people wouldn't be able to be outside without a suit, it is nowhere near as bad as it was.

2200-2225: The first settlement on Mars is created, and a few years later, populated. People there have to exercise more than people on earth due to the lower gravity, but the people who move there say it's a small price to pay. Cold fusion is made a reality, and most of the world switches over to what is called "the ultimate in clean energy". The design for an FTL drive is finished, however the power required is massive and the project is put on a back burner until better power options are created.

2228: A student studying for a doctorate in physics writes a paper on a theoretical way for an object to convert its own kinetic energy into useable energy. The UNSA seizes the opportunity and immediately starts work on an actual prototype, as this could be the answer to the FTL energy problem.

2230-2240: The prototype works, and priorities again quietly shift back to the FTL drive. A new type of ship is created, with the public believing it to be a manned mission to the Jovian Moons (which is somewhat true as that is the ships first destination). The ship is then built in orbit due to its size and complexity.

2243-2244: The ship, called the _Enterprise_ after an old science fiction series, sets off with a crew of 20 people and 3 AIs, one of which is completely devoted to making sure the FTL drive is in working order. The crew puts itself into suspended animation, as the 10G acceleration of the craft would crush them otherwise. It accelerates to 90% the speed of light, using the Jovian moons as sling shots to help increase velocity and change course. The ship then activates its drive, and reaches Alpha Centauri in under 5 days. The crew is woken by the AIs, a small celebration takes place, the existence of Alpha Centauri Bb is confirmed, they turn around, use the Centauri A as a sling shot again, and go home. The entire trip takes 8 months.

2245-2275: With the unveiling of an FTL drive, money is poured into the space program from both governments and civilians to make it better. Another two ships are created, and all three start to look around out stellar neighborhood for planets to possibly colonize.

2276: Specialists in quantum mechanics find a way to communicate using quantum entanglement. Current units are too massive for ships, but work is progressing.

2279: While examining the new "Quantum Coupled Communicator" or QCC, an AI realizes that it may be possible to recreate the phenomenon without the particle "anchors" on either end, and instead send a true signal through the link. The physics is above most of the heads in the field, and only a couple humans truly understand it.

2280-2295: Development of QCCs continue, and it is eventually revealed that power could also be sent through the link. With the devices getting smaller and smaller, it was finally decided to mount one on a starship. The resultant increase in power the ship received (as it was receiving all its power from a massive set of fusion reactors on earth) meant that it didn't need to accelerate to 90% the speed of light before it went FTL. It made a round trip to Alpha Centauri in under 3 days.

2295-2350: Humanity expands at a rapid rate, colonizing over 30 planets. Technology continues to develop. AIs get faster, nano-bots get smaller and have more functions, ships get bigger and faster, and life goes on.

2354: While on a survey mission, a deep space mining company stumble upon a new element. Science vessels are immediately dispatched to figure out what it was. The results are astounding. The newly named "Element Zero" was capable of creating fields around it that affected mass based on the type of charge applied to it.

2355-2360: A test ship is designed and built, using an "Eezo Core". It is determined that the modern Alcubierre Drive is much more effective, as the Eezo drive could only go 3 light years a day while the latest Alcubierre Drive could go 70. However, scientists couldn't ignore the fact that Element Zero was extremely useful for Slower Than Light (STL) travel as an inertial compensator.

2360-2370: Through extensive research and space-time manipulation, scientists artificially recreate the effect of Eezo in STL travel. The new inertial compensators are an instant hit, as previously the only way to get anywhere fast was through FTL travel.

2373: A new sensor outpost in Martian orbit, designed to find ships based on the imprint left by their inertial compensator, gets strange readings from Deseado Crater. After analysis, the readings match up perfectly with the original Element Zero core, which was in a museum on earth. Fearing a terrorist group was creating its own ship, the UN sent in special operations troops to examine the area. They never expected to find alien ruins.

2375-2380: The ruins are slowly excavated, with people being careful not to damage anything whatsoever. After months of digging, they finally have the entire structure cleaned out. After a few weeks of examining physical objects, the decision is made to examine the computer systems. A team of highly specialized AIs is deployed into the computer, and they begin to extract all the data they could find (and hack what they couldn't get to). After cleaning out the system, the AIs started to repair, decipher, and translate the data. It is estimated that without the help of the AI, it over 85% of the data contained within would be lost. After 3 years of work, the AIs finish. The result was humanity learning of the Protheans, their empire, their war with the Reapers, and their overly complicated plan to end it all.

2379: In a massive press conference, the UN Security Council announces the existence of the Reapers, and declares them a threat. In response, the UN decides that it needs a more centralized leadership, and is reorganized into the Human Systems Alliance. The first act of the SA is to start research into space warfare.

2380-2475: The SA thrives under the new leadership, with almost everyone agreeing the change was worth it. The first warships are produced, using mass accelerator technology for weapons. As improvements are made, naval designers start to experiment with both particle weaponry and nuclear warheads. The resulting weapons were so powerful, that it was decided that large warships simply weren't the effort to mass produce, as they were killed too easily in the long run. With the invention of the micro inertial compensator making fighters more effective, designers finally found what they believed to be the perfect fleet.

2477: Today.

* * *

Codex

_F/A-753 Peregrine: _The Peregrine fighter is the primary fighter for the System Alliance Military. It has a nano-hull, allowing it to change into a number of shapes depending on the situation, from a rocket to a glider. It is armed with 2 P-177 Particle Accelerators, and room for up to 30 light or 18 medium missiles, with a standard load being 16 light and 10 medium missiles for the navy, and 14 medium and 10 light missiles for ground forces. It is also able to carry external ordinance packages on launch. Due to the nature of the hull, it has no set dimensions, however the standard combat configuration is 22.5 meters long, 17.8m meters wide, and 4.5 meters tall. It has a top acceleration of 35,000Gs.

_Gryphon-Class Frigate: _The most common type of ship in the Alliance Navy, the Gryphon-Class frigate is 264 meters long, 115 meters wide, and 41 meters tall. It has 2 light particle cannon turrets (1 ventral and 1 dorsal), multiple point defense turrets, and a series of medium missile launchers. It has 1.3 meters of armor, one shuttle, a crew of 55, and numerous escape pods. Unlike their Council counterparts, these frigates regularly engage enemy capital ships. Acceleration is about 16,500Gs.

_Patton-Class Destroyer: _Destroyers fill in the same role as Council cruisers, a medium combatant. The Patton-Class is 612 meters long, 278 meters wide, and 104 meters tall. It has 4 dual particle cannon turrets (again split between ventral and dorsal), again multiple point defense turrets, and again, a series of medium missile launchers. It has 3.5 meters of armor, two shuttles, a crew of 180, and escape pods. Acceleration is about 15,000Gs.

_Longbow-Class Missile Destroyer: _The Longbow-Class is a unique ship. It's based on the same hull as the Patton-Class, and is mostly the same, however it only has 2 light particle cannon turrets with the extra room being devoted to heavy missile launchers.

_Caesar-Class Heavy Cruiser: _The Caesar-Class is the primary heavy combatant of the Alliance Navy, at 1.2 Kilometers long, 546 meters wide, and 218 meters tall it is a monster ship. It has 12 dual particle cannon turrets (6 ventral, 6 dorsal, laid out in an eclipse rather than a line), tons of point defense turrets, and numerous medium and heavy missile launchers. They have 8 meters of armor, 5 shuttles, a crew of 425 including a ground element, 2 light tanks, 2 APCs, and tons of escape pods. Acceleration is at 14,000Gs.

_Los Angeles-Class Assault Carrier: _These ships are essentially Carriers with more guns. They will stay back, with the normal carriers, and provide protection. They are 1.3 Kilometers long, 590 meters wide, and 231 meters tall. It is armed with 8 dual particle cannon turrets (4 ventral, 4 dorsal), tons of point defense, a few heavy missile launchers, and 6 squadrons of Peregrine fighters (72 total). They have 5.5 meters of armor, 8 shuttles, a crew of 500 including pilots, crews, and a ground element, 2 light tanks, 1 heavy tank, 3 APCs, and escape pods. Acceleration is at 13,700Gs.

_Avalon-Class Carrier: _Carriers are the heart of the fleet, being in some ways the most powerful ships in the Alliance Navy's arsenal. While the ships are 1.5 Kilometers long, 697 meters wide, and 303 meters tall, they only have 4 dual particle cannon turrets (same as a destroyer). Instead of lots of cannons or missiles, they have 10 squadrons of Peregrine fighters (120 total), which is devastating. While most fighters exit out the hanger doors for combat, the advanced strike squadrons are typically launched out the 4 mass accelerator rails that run the front third of the carrier. They have 4 meters of armor, 10 shuttles, a crew of 550 including pilots, crews, and a ground element, 3 light tanks, 2 heavy tanks, 3 APCs, and lots of escape pods. Acceleration is at 13,700Gs.

_Mule-Class Supply Ship: _Modern supply ships don't actually carry all that many supplies. Instead they carry raw materials that nano-bots then use to create everything from food to missiles. The current Mule-Class ship is 934 meters long, 456 meters wide, and 207 meters tall. It has .75 meters of armor, no heavy weapons (only point defense), 3 shuttles, 2 mining bots, a crew of 250, and escape pods. Acceleration is at 13,000Gs.

_Particle Weaponry: _Particle weapons use high energy particles accelerated to high fractions of the speed of light. They are extremely powerful, especially since they pass straight through kinetic barriers.

_Missiles: _Modern missiles come in three sizes, light, medium, and heavy. Light missiles are only found on fighter craft and are primarily used against other fighters. The current light missile, the SRAF-28 (Short Range Anti Fighter) or Black Widow is the first to be a nuclear weapon, with a variable yield of up to 1.5 megatons (TNT equivalent). Medium missiles are used in both anti-fighter and anti-ship roles, and can be found on ships of all sizes. The current MRGP-14 (Medium Range General Purpose) of Brown Recluse has a variable yield nuclear warhead with a maximum yield of 6.5 megatons (TNT equivalent). Heavy missiles are used exclusively in an anti-ship role, being very large and not maneuverable enough to catch a fighter (though some may get caught in the blast radius). The current LRAS-26 (Long Range Anti Shipping) or Tarantula has a variable yield nuclear warhead of up to 15 megatons.

_Cerebral Implants:_ These are nano-grown implants within the empty spaces of the human brain. They allow for internet access, AI interaction, and much more all from ones mind.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I sat in my seat, thinking. After all, there wasn't much else I can do in this never to be sufficiently damned back corner of the Shanxi system. I still didn't know what divine being I pissed off enough to get myself assigned here, but I must have done something. I am sitting in my F/A-753 Peregrine fighter, which had been "modified" by loading sensor pods instead of missiles, cruising around the outskirts of the newly colonized system of Shanxi. Being a former N7 Designated Alliance Marine, it was torture. After anti-aging nano was created, people started to get really board of their jobs after 80 years, and so career switching became pretty common. As it happens, the military put in place programs to help such changes, the result being that when one First Sergeant Mike Shepard (N7 Designation) of the Alliance Marines wanted to try his hand at something else, he was able to go to flight school without much issue. Except for being forced to go into the navy, and as a result fly survey missions. But really, why did I have to survey some empty system like Shanxi, why not somewhere where there was something interesting?

Just as the thought crossed my mind, I got a new reading from the pods I had deployed around my fighter. "Survey Lead, this is Survey 2-1, I've got something on my sensors, cross referencing with known readings now." As I was speaking, my AI began analyzing the reading and comparing it to anything it could be. "Copy that Survey 2-1, just keep me updated," replied Lieutenant Commander David Anderson, my current CO. Rumor had it he was on the fast track to Commander, and possibly one of the frigates now in production. "Shepard, I have determined what the reading is," stated my AI. "Well then, Greg, what is it?" I asked impatiently. Greg and I were partnered together back in boot camp, as all recruits are due to the advanced technology in modern war fighting equipment, and after 80 years we have an almost sibling relationship. "You probably won't like it. After all it's quite boring. Every system has a Mass Relay right?" Greg replied sarcastically. I immediately opened a channel up to Anderson.

"Survey Lead, we have a possible Mass Relay here," I say. "You know the procedure 2-1, move in, cover it, but don't get too close. I'll contact the _Anion_, and hopefully we'll get this cleared up fast." "Copy that survey lead. 2-1 out." The _Anion_ is the frigate assigned to Shanxi while surveys were going on, as was standard procedure. Most likely her captain would relay the message back to Rear Admiral Drescher aboard the _El Dorado_, in the sector capital of New Wallachia, and have reinforcements called in for containment. This thought brought me up to the 10,000 kilometer no-fly line for the relay. When Humanity discovered the Protheans, Reapers, and Mass Relays from the Mars Archives, we put things together better than the Protheans did. The Mass Relays were there specifically to limit the technology of developing species, making the Reaper's job of genocide that much easier. As humanity expanded, the decision was made to possibly use the Relays, as we had already broken the tech trap, however dormant relays were another deal altogether. It was a decision made at the highest level to never activate a relay that we didn't know where it went, and even then to only open one with a full fleet present. Until such time as the destination discovered and charted, and a fleet moved out to be there if something went wrong, there was a no-fly zone 10,000 kilometers around the thing for military, and 100,000 kilometers for civilian ships.

I start moving my sensor pods to get the best coverage of the relay without going inside the containment zone, and settle in for the long wait for a relief force.

* * *

Rear Admiral Kastanie Drescher was doing paperwork. It was the curse of commanding a Battle Group. She hated it, despised it, and overall thought the world would be a better place without it. '_It's not like I can do away with it, unfortunately'_ she thought to herself. Kind of. _'Well, you could just ignore it,'_ her personal AI Chester replied to her private question. _'What have I told you about responding to rhetorical statements?'_ the extremely grumpy Admiral reminded him. _'Funny that, I don't seem to remember. Communication incoming from the Anion,'_ Chester quickly changing from sarcastic to serious. "Admiral, incoming priority transmission from the _Anion_. It seems that the Survey crews found a Mass Relay in the Shanxi system," said Drescher's communications officer. "Send in Commodore Merlo's task force. Let him know I'll get a containment force out there as soon as possible."

Aboard Vincent Merlo's flagship, the _Haltija_, the message was passed on to the Commodore. "Well then, why are you all waiting for, let's get this task force moving!" Vincent half yelled. _'Stop teasing them, some people don't like it,' 'Yeah, whatever Sonia, just because you have tender sensibilities doesn't mean everyone else does.'_ Truth be told, he knew very well that his AIs sensibilities weren't tender, but the age-old banter was refreshing. In his mind, the Mass Relays were just bad news. Who knows what crap the Reapers had shoved into them? For all humanity knew, they were giant WMDs, with the FTL benefit tacked on afterwards to keep new species from removing them!

While these thoughts went through his head, the Commodore's Light Task Force of five frigates (as the other five were on survey duty), moved into place for an FTL trip to the Shanxi System.

* * *

For the next few days, nothing of note really happened. The containment force of a destroyer and three frigates was dispatched, and it arrived without a problem. The ships from the _El Dorado_'s Battle Group left, and one of the containment force's frigates picked up the duty to watch the survey mission. This all changed six days after the containment force arrived, when suddenly the Relay activated.

* * *

"Damn Turians! Has that fleet given up yet?" asked an angry Batarian slaver. They had been out, pirating and slaving, when they accidentally picked up some Turian general's daughter on one of the liners they attacked. The response was fearsome. Currently the motley pirate "fleet" of two old Batarian cruisers and four frigates was being chased just outside Council space. The lead cruiser's sensor operator replied warily, "No sir, in fact I think they might have been reinforced. I'm now counting 12 frigates, 7 cruisers, and possibly a dreadnought, though this things sensors are so worn it might just be another couple of cruisers really close together." Surprisingly to him, he didn't get shot for the report. "Why are they still following us, we gave back the girl!" The captain sat back in his chair, in thought. "Isn't there a Relay in this system?" the captain asked openly. "Yes sit, but it's dormant." "Ha! Since when have we cared about Council Law? Activate it and go through, that should throw them enough!"

On the Turian dreadnought, General Desolas Arterius was tapping his foot impatiently. He had been ordered to track down and kill these pirates no matter the cost, even though the General Silvanus' daughter was safe. He really had no idea why, but orders were orders. Even if it was causing him to miss his brother's promotion to Spectre status. "General, the pirates are changing course. For some reason they're heading to Relay 314, even though it's dormant." This got Desolas' attention. Not even pirates were that stupid, were they? "Sir, they're activating the relay!" Apparently yes, they are. "Move in, and blockade the relay. We'll go through with 7 frigates, 6 cruisers, and the _Unconquered_."

As the fleet moved forward, Desolas wondered what possessed these pirated to break such a vital law. Piracy was one thing, but potentially starting another Rachni War was a whole different story. It took a few minutes, but when the fleet was in position, Desolas gave the order to move through the relay with the specified ships. As they came out of the Relay they were greeted with a sight they never expected to see. Three strange ships were sitting there, looking like someone had taken a sphere, squished it, and pulled the back into an eclipse. While most stared at the strange sight, absently noticing the lack of the Batarian pirate ships, one of the sensors started to beep. "General! We're picking up left over radiation from nuclear weapons!" This snapped the crew of the dreadnought out of their shock. Nuclear weapons were illegal on planets, and anything over 750 kilotons was illegal altogether. "Yield?" Desolas asked cautiously. "By the computer's reckoning, three detonations each at around 6.5 megatons." Desolas just sat back in his chair. This was not the way he thought this day would end. "You know the law. Open fire."

* * *

AN: And that's a wrap! I know that Council law is only "no nukes on planets", but I changed it for obvious reasons. I needed a reason to start the conflict, and there isn't much of a way for the Turians to figure out about the AIs yet (though that will come up later).

AN2: For future reference, I use www behindthename com / random for any OC names you see.

AN3: Please rate and review. As I have said, this is my first fanfiction, and I want to know what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong. As to the point of view, when Shepard is present it will be 1st person, whenever it's someone else, it will be 3rd.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It had been a few days since the containment force showed up. In fact, it was the last day for the survey crew I was on, and I couldn't wait to get back to civilization. Well, kind of civilization. New Wallachia was still an agricultural world, and there weren't many big cities. Still, anything was better than Shanxi. I was just about to pull in my sensor pods, when I received a startling message from the containment force. "All ships, this is Captain Evaristus of the _Rommel_, the Mass Relay is activating. I am activating Emergency Protocol Echo Tango Charlie, all noncombat ships are to immediately stealth to their maximum capabilities. All survey crews, place your sensor pods to get as many recordings as possible. I have already alerted Admiral Drescher, and she will be here within six hours. Be on your guard people, we don't know what will happen here." By the time he finished talking, I had already spread out my pods for the best coverage, and shut down all non-essential systems on my fighter. While I did this, Greg changed the shape of my fighter, and using the fact that the fighter was made of nano-bots, made it look like a fighter mass rock. I only hoped that the none of it was necessary.

* * *

"What the hell are those things," said one of the bridge crew on the _Rommel_, "they look like crap!" That must have been the understatement of the century. The ships that had come out of the relay looked as if they had been designed well, and then built out of scrap. It seemed as if there wasn't a single plate of metal on the ship that was the same color as any within 20 meters of it, and it seemed like it should be falling apart. "Analysis?" Captain Newt Evaristus asked. "I'm reading four frigates and two ships about midway between a frigate and a destroyer, all seem to be armed, though- Sir, I'm getting energy build up from the ships, looks like they are preparing to fire!" In a split second decision, Evaristus yelled to his weapons officer, "Launch three MRGPs, even spread!" Just as he finished speaking, the four smaller ships fired, though only one hit his ship as the _Rommel_'s AI automatically moved to dodge. "Not much damage, sir, it skipped off the bottom of our armor. It probably would have gone through if it hit us head on." Said the ships engineering officer over his implant, anticipating the captain's request for a report. "Targeting solution acquired, permission to fire?" asked the weapons officer. "Permission granted, get them out of my space!"

As the missiles left their rails, they turned towards their targets, and engaged their inertial compensators and plasma drives. They cross the 10,000 kilometers between them and their targets in just over five seconds, and by the time they reached their detonation points, they were moving close to 4000 kilometers per second. To put it simply, there was no way the pirate's beat up GAURDIAN lasers, with their worn down sensors, could possibly destroy them. And then the missiles detonated, and for a moment it seemed to the combatants as if Shanxi had four suns, as they released six and a half megatons of nuclear fury. Given the distance the pirate's ships were from each other, and the power of the missiles, there was simply nothing left.

"Well then, I take it that they don't normally go up against nukes, there was no way anybody who had would bunch up like that," said Evaristus, "Move in, see what we can find. Maybe there is something left to analyze." The three ships of the containment fleet moved forward slowly, not wanting to trigger the relay by accident. When they were 2000 kilometers out, the sensor officer aboard the _Rommel_ shouted out, "Captain, the relay is activating again!" as he said this, a much larger fleet started coming through the relay. "Analysis says seven frigates, six of those mixed size ships, and one under sized cruiser. Though, these look like actual warships, and not something pulled out of a scrapyard." Evaristus started to contemplate this when the sensor officer spoke up again. "Sir, I'm getting weapons signatures again!" Evaristus turned to his weapons officer, "Launch everything you can, target the cruiser with the particle cannons, have the _Tianlong_ and the _Oriad_ back off and try to escape. We'll hold them off." The bridge was silent except for the communications officer signaling the two frigates of the force to back off.

This time, the _Rommel_ fired first, the two particle cannons hitting the enemy cruiser on one of its "wings", completely tearing it off. The missiles were next, though this time none of them got through as they didn't have time to accelerate to a high enough velocity and there were many more ships targeting them. Just as the last missile was destroyed, the enemy ships fired, the cruiser's shot hit just off center, but still went straight through the armor given the short range and speed of the projectile. Only the cruiser and four of the mixed size ships fired at the _Rommel_, but one of the shots hit the ventral particle turret just as it was about to fire, causing the containment field to fail and the turret to very violently explode, killing everyone on the ship. As it happens, the frigates didn't fare much better. Since they were moving away, their large plasma drives were facing the enemy, and released their plasma into the ship when they were hit.

* * *

I watched silently as the containment force was destroyed, praying for all those who were killed in the detonations. The alien ships started to move forward, no doubt to comb the "wreckage" for survivors and scrap to analyze. As I watched, more ships started coming from the relay. I checked again to make sure all my sensors were recording, so I could send it to Admiral Drescher. In the end there were 12 frigates, seven of the mixed size ships, but still only one cruiser. I packaged up the data, and sent it to Drescher, as no doubt the rest of the survey crew in the outer system was. I sat back and let Greg take over the sensors, trying to get a quick nap. After all, it would be another four hours until the admiral arrived with Battle Group _El Dorado_, and I really didn't want to miss it.

* * *

Codex:

_Peregrine stealth systems:_ The Peregrine fighter has very capable stealth systems. To go along with internal emission sinks, the nano-hull cam mold into many different shapes, making the fighter seem to all observers as some small asteroid. For missions where it can't be spotted at all, the nano-bots can act as an active camouflage coating.

AN: On the Mass Effect ship sizes, from what I could find, frigates are about 200 meters, cruisers are 400 to 500 meters, and dreadnoughts are 800 to 1000 meters. In this chapter, the humans are labeling the Batarian and Turian ships under human specifications (though this will change once they get more information).

AN2: Again, rate and review, and please tell me if I'm doing something wrong.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Desolas Arterius was not in a good mood. His flagship's port wing was completely destroyed, he was forced to wait for troops to commence a landing on the planet of these primitives (as that was the only thing they could be, using nuclear weapons and not having any eezo on their ships) as his force only had enough marines for protection against the extremely unlikely occurrence of boarders, and now he was going to miss his brother's post-promotion party as well as the ceremony itself. He was in a really bad mood indeed.

* * *

I was woken from my short nap by Greg telling me that we had an update from the Admiral. "She wants the survey units to tag as many of their ships with infiltration units as possible. I am already coordinating with the other Survey AIs to establish a pattern." I wasn't very surprised, given that this was a completely new enemy we were facing. Infiltration units were 50 by 2 centimeter probes, made of a small communications unit and very specialized nano-bots. They were launched at very low speed toward an enemy ship, and when they hit the nano-bots would slowly burrow into the enemy hull, find computer systems, and attach to them. The result being that our hacker AIs would have a fool proof way into the enemy systems. Slowly, the three survey fighters close enough to do any good changed course so that they would pass within a few thousand kilometers of the enemy fleet. As it happens, I was way too far away to get there before the admiral arrived (without completely blowing my cover that is), so I just focused on making sure that the enemy fleet didn't notice anything.

30 minutes later, the enemy cruiser, three of their mixed size ships, and 10 of their frigates were tagged, just waiting to be hacked.

* * *

The Turian fleet had been in the system for just over five and a half hours, and reinforcements were still another seven hours away. Desolas had his crews stand down from battle stations, given that these primitives had no more ships to use, and there was obviously no colonies given that they didn't have element zero.

Desolas was just about to go to his quarters himself, when his sensor officer spoke up. "Sir, I'm picking up a number of anomalies, it looks- Sir, I'm picking up 37 unidentified ships, same general design as the ones we just destroyed. I'm reading four dreadnoughts, three oversized dreadnoughts, though one is bigger than the rest, 10 oversized cruisers, and 20 frigates. Their launching fighters, I can't tell how many at the moment." Desolas immediately started shouting orders, "Get all crews to battle stations, launch fighters and prepare for combat. Do you have a fighter count yet?" he asked, turning back to his sensor officer. "Yes sir, there seems to be an advanced flight of 72 fighters, while the main body has 180. The thing is, I'm reading massive acceleration from all of their ships, the advanced fighters will be here in two minutes, the main body of fighters and most of the warships a minute after that, and the massive ships five minutes after them." Desolas had to think fast. He had no clue how a race without eezo could accelerate anywhere near that fast. Hell, even with eezo there was no way any council race could do that. He was just about to order the fleet to move back, to get some more time, when suddenly the entire ship heaved backwards.

"Report!" He yelled out to his bridge crew, who were thankfully unharmed aside from some bruises. "The advanced fighters launched some sort of missiles, but they accelerated ridiculously fast! They hit the forward frigates and fighters, it was almost like they were kinetic missiles. We were hit from the shockwave when one of the frigates eezo core collapsed. From what my sensors show- By the spirits, those fighters launched more missiles, same readings as the first group of ships we destroyed! Recommend we retreat sir, there is no way we can kill that many missiles before they get to us!" And he was right. Desolas watched speechless as over 70 missiles bore down on his fleet of now 15 ships after some of the frigates were destroyed. He knew there was no time to jump to FTL, not at the pace those missiles were going. Just as the missiles were about to hit however, they veered away, and detonated in megatons upon megatons of nuclear fury, but not harming a single ship.

"Sir, incoming message from the enemy fleet, I think. It just appeared in my inbox," said the communications officer. "Play it on speaker." Desolas ordered still somewhat shocked at what happened. "To all Turian ships, this is Rear Admiral Kastanie Drescher. You know we can easily destroy your entire fleet, in fact I would love to do nothing more. However, high command wants prisoners and tech intact, so I will offer this only once. Surrender now, shut down all systems on your ships except for life support, and prepare to accept a boarding party. If you don't comply by the time my ships arrive, then you will be destroyed." After the message ended, Desolas opened a channel to all of his ships and fighters. "All ships, this is General Arterius. I am calling the surrender, fighters return to their ships, all non-essential systems are to be shut down immediately. Marines are to place all weapons into the armory, and captains are to prepare to welcome a boarding party." Desolas turned to his bridge crew, "I'm going down to the number one air lock. Direct their boarders there." And he walked off the bridge.

* * *

15 Minutes Earlier

"Alright people here's the plan. We will enter the Shanxi system in just under 15 minutes. When we do, the carriers will launch all fighters, with 6 squadrons in the advanced group. They will launch their strike packages, targeting enemy frigates and fighters. Afterwards, they will launch one missile a piece, no need for them to know they can launch up to four at a time. These missiles will veer off at the last second, and scare these aliens into surrendering. I know everyone wants to just kill them all, but high command wants prisoners and technology. While this is happening, the AIs will be going through their data, prioritizing language and species data first so we can deliver demands. The second group will be the main body of fighters and all combat ships. They will either be accepting the enemy's surrender or killing then if they don't accept. The carriers will come in afterwards just in case. Any questions?" There were none, just as Admiral Drescher had thought. She had made the plan as simple and fool proof as possible, not wanting to screw up because of some ridiculously complex plan that took way to much brain power to execute.

Just under 15 minutes later, the Battle Group _El Dorado_ entered into the system. "Okay people you know the plan. You don't need me looking over your shoulder." _'Chester, how are the hackers doing?'_ she asked her AI. _'Very well indeed. Most of the ships were hit with infiltrators, and they have no real defense against hacking at our level. As it happens we already have all the data needed to deliver demands, it wasn't even the protected stuff. Amateurs.'_ A couple minutes later, the demand had been sent, and the aliens (who she now knew were called Turians) had surrendered. "Call up the lead survey fighter, if you would." After a few seconds, the channel was open. "Admiral, you do know pickup is tomorrow right?" David Anderson said with a slight grin. "Yes, well, it seems there was a problem so I decided to come early. Go ahead and bring your squadron back, I have that a system survey will be the least of our worries in the near future." A few minutes later, and the 610th Fighter Squadron was once again aboard its home carrier.

Codex:

_Mk-4 AI Infiltration Unit:_ These small probes are used so that AIs can be able to hack into enemy ships. With a miniature QCC unit, they can't be jammed, and the hardline connection they form with enemy computer systems can only be destroyed by physically cutting the connection (a hard thing to do when it literally is inside the ships plating).

_Squadron Numbering System:_ Squadrons are numbered based on three things. The first number is their battle group (for instance the 610th is in the 6th battle group, and the 1410th is in the 14th battle group). The second number is what carrier in the battle group (the 610th is on the primary carrier, the 620th is on one of the assault carriers, and the 630th is on the other assault carrier). The final number is the squadron number, with 1 being the first squadron up to 0 being the 10th squadron.

AN: For those wondering, my schedule for uploading from here on out is going to be a chapter every Monday and then another every Thursday or Friday (depending on how fast I write the chapters).

AN2: Again, please rate and review.

Reviews:

cellester: That is the way I designed them. You have to remember, when using nuclear weapons regularly, there isn't much that can stop them. As such I went to the extremes.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The Battle Group had been in-system for just over 5 hours when Admiral Drescher called a conference with all her captains. "Well, people here is where we stand. The AIs have finished going through the data they collected, and while it is quite interesting, we don't have time to go over it right now. These people had called in troops and reinforcements to occupy Shanxi, and those reinforcements are under an hour away. We will do this simple and by the book. I want the heavy cruisers in close to the relay, with the destroyers around the back side to block any escape. The missile destroyers will be behind the cruisers, with missiles primed and ready to be launched. Fighters will be waiting just outside the ambush zone and will go in to make sure nothing gets away, though I wouldn't count on it. We will have another meeting after the battle, so be ready."

* * *

I was sitting in my newly rearmed fighter waiting for the enemy reinforcements. They were only a couple minutes away, and everything was pretty tense. According to the AIs, this force would be 5 frigates, 2 of what they call "cruisers" (though they are smaller than a destroyer), and some military transports. The goal with the current fleet positions is to eliminate the military component as soon as possible, with as little collateral damage as possible. This meant having the cruisers (and their heavy particle beam batteries) at the front of the formation. Hopefully, the missile destroyers wouldn't have to launch a single missile, but it always pays to have a backup plan.

As I watched, ships started coming out of the relay, and the cruisers immediately opened fire. I watched as each of the frigates were speared by four lances of high energy particles each, and the pseudo-cruisers were hit with 10 beams each. Given the size of the ships, their lack of good armor, and the fact that we had caught them by surprise, all seven targeted ships were completely disabled, and one even blew up. Unfortunately, when it did, it knocked one of the transports back through the relay, allowing it to go back and get more help. My squadron moved in, spacing ourselves with the other squadrons throughout the enemy fleet and keeping more of them from getting back through. Overall, it was a job well done.

* * *

Admiral Drescher was once again addressing all her captains. "Okay, now that that is taken care of, we can get on to the meat of the data. These aliens are part of a multi-species government called the Citadel Council. Apparently, 3000 years ago a species called the Asari stumbled upon the Crucible, named it the Citadel, and thinking it to be Prothean, made it the center of their government. Yes, carbon dating could have squashed that theory, but apparently no one thought of it. A few hundred years later, another species called the Salarians found it, and they formed the council. About 2000 years ago, an exploration team opened a dormant relay and discovered another species, the Rachni, which were highly aggressive. A massive war followed in which they uplifted a species called the Krogan, who seem to be made for war. Most of their home world was radioactive wasteland, which is the cause of the Citadel ban on nuclear weapons by the way, and using the Krogan they won the war. Afterwards, the Krogan started reproducing out of control, causing the Krogan Rebellions to begin when the council denied them the space to make more colonies. In this time the Turians, the aliens we fought, were discovered, and contracted to fight the Krogan. In the end, they had to use a bio weapon that caused 99.999% of Krogan births to be stillborn. They haven't even tried to reverse it. Afterwards, they were given a place on the council, and told that they were now the peace keepers for the council, and are currently allowed the most dreadnoughts, what we would call light cruisers, based on various treaties." Here she paused to let everything sink in. "There are a few other species, but none of them have more than a few colonies, and don't contribute that greatly to the Council militarily."

After a few questions about details, everyone was quiet once again. "Well then, now that that is out of the way, I am going to inform you that the current plan is to gather a reinforced fleet here in Shanxi, leave a battle group behind for defense, go straight to the Citadel/Crucible, and force negotiations. There is really crap all they will be able to do, as any prepared flee of ours will completely destroy anything they can throw at us. That is all for today, the next meeting will be when the rest of the fleet arrives." A couple seconds later, everybody logged off and got to work with managing their ship.

* * *

The next morning, the Council chamber on the Citadel was in chaos. "So you are telling me that the Turians attacked an unknown race without alerting the Council?" Councilor Tevos asked. "Yes, however you must understand, they used multi megaton nuclear weapons! We were bound by Citadel law to attack. Plus, how were we supposed to know that they had discovered a way to go faster than light without Eezo? As far as the commander on the scene was concerned, he had destroyed their entire navy, so we thought that there was no need to tell you until the next scheduled meeting, which if you remember would have been later today," Councilor Sparatus replied. "I agree with Sparatus, Tevos. Before now this could have waited until later today, but the situation has changed. I say we agree with the Turians call for aid, though we should also send in STG operatives first to see if we can find out just how big their fleet really is." Councilor Valern said. Tevos sighed, "Very well. I don't like it, but if we do it we should at least go with the _Destiny Ascension_, so we can accept their surrender in person. They are obviously a sizeable species, though I doubt they are anywhere near as big as even one of the lesser Citadel races. Hopefully, this will end without more bloodshed." Valern spoke up again, "The other thing to consider is getting our hands on their technology. Those weapons they used were quite interesting. They pass straight through kinetic barriers, and are very powerful considering that they are turret based. I also wonder how they achieved faster than light travel without element zero. We will have to get readings if we ever see it, maybe we'll get some sort of clue." After another hour of various discussions, the three went back to their offices to send out the messages that would gather a fleet at the Citadel, hopefully before things escalated past where they already were.

* * *

Meanwhile, 5 battle groups across Human space started moving, converging on the Shanxi system. Many wondered what this might mean, as the first contact had remained classified to only those involved and the highest levels of the government. That afternoon, a press conference was called, in which first contact was announced, and it was announced the very basics of what the new fleet gathering was going to do, and what would happen if this new enemy refused their demands. Humanity would go to war, and leave nothing in it's wake.

Codex

_Basic Human Combat Doctrine:_ For fleet battles, humans typically use an advanced strike od fighters that go in, blaze straight through the enemy fleet, and launch as many missiles as they can. After that, the main body of fighters come in, followed closely by the heavy cruisers and destroyers, with the missile destroyers staying in the back and staying out of the meat of the battle. The carriers will always try to stay as far away as possible. In an ambush, the heavy cruisers are placed in front, as their heavy particle cannon batteries are optimal for short range combat, and allowing them to trip the ambush gives them an edge before the enemy starts to dodge.

AN: I'm deciding to get this out there now, there will not be a Cerberus in this fic. In my opinion, there doesn't need to be a pro-human organization when the government is already made to be that way.

AN2: Again, please rate and review.

Reviews:

FollowCanon: I know that the Citadel drives are that fast, but I severely doubt that their first drives were hat fast. The Asari have had 3000 years to develop it further, which is why the human drive is so bad compared to theirs. Either way though, the Alcubierre drive is faster by a lot (and doesn't require you to get rid of the static charge).


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It had been just under 2 days since the Turian attack on Shanxi, and the last of the fleet had finally arrived in system. Even though one of the battle groups would stay in Shanxi as security, that still left a fleet of five carriers, 10 assault carriers, 20 heavy cruisers, 20 missile destroyers, 30 destroyers, and 100 frigates; in the carriers, there were a total of 1220 fighters ready to launch. The sheer firepower was staggering. I was sitting in my fighter, as my squadron was one of the ones on relay guard duty, waiting for the brass to finish up a battle plan. As I watched, Greg spoke up. "Shepard, the relay is activating. I have already notified command. I would recommend activating stealth features." In an instant, I had the stealth running at maximum. Given my position, I used the active camouflage systems rather than the rock disguise. As I watched, a small ship came out of the relay, before it seemed to activate its stealth systems. Given how much data we had gotten from the Turian force, we knew that none of the Citadel's stealth systems worked against our higher end sensors, especially the visual ones.

The ship, which Greg had tentatively identified as an STG ship, slowly moved away from the relay, having no clue that it was being watched very closely by every fighter on relay duty. We finally received the orders to disable it. As I was the closest one to the ship, I got to do the deed. As we wanted the ship intact, I wouldn't use missiles, nor could I hit the mass effect core. However, I needed to make sure that they couldn't overload the core themselves. This put me into a quandary. "Greg, would I destroy the eezo core if I opened up their engineering bay to space?" A couple seconds later, Greg replied, saying, "No, however the ship would still be running. What are you thinking?" I outlined my plan. I would have the next closes fighter target their turrets, while I would fire off two volleys. One would hit their engines, the other hitting their engineering bay; we knew the location due to the fact that it was the center of the mass effect field we were detecting.

I warmed up the two particle accelerators on my fighter, which are smaller versions of particle cannons. I slowly moved my fighter to the correct position, and waited for the other fighter to do the same. When we were both in position, I fired, clipping off enough of the engines to disable them without destroying them. I quickly changed target, and sent off another two bolts of compressed, accelerated particles just as the other fighters first two shots took out two of their GAURDIAN (whatever that stood for) turrets. Due to the nano-bot nature of our fighter's hulls, the particle accelerators could be targeted independently, though only by so much. A couple seconds after my second volley, I knew I had hit the right spot, as the ship hadn't self-destructed yet. A frigate moved over as fast as it could, and sent over a shuttle full of marines to take control of the ship.

As that happened, an announcement came over the fleet wide channel. "This is Admiral Steven Hackett, of the _Avalon_. All fighters are to return to their carriers, and prepare to receive new orders." After the message was over, I moved into formation with my squadron, and we boosted to the _El Dorado_, everybody hoping that we were finally going to go through the relay.

* * *

2 Hours Earlier

Admiral Hackett walked into the conference room, and sat at the head of the table. Since this was only a meeting of the 6 admirals and their chiefs of staff, and the importance of the meeting, it was decided to hold it in person. "Everybody knows why we are here. This is a meeting to determine just what we are going to do from here. High Command has given us a long leash on this one, though they did say that they want at least one of the battle groups to stay here and guard the colony." He turned to Drescher, "What I want to know is if we should leave more." Drescher thought for a moment, then replied, "No, sir. With an ambush set up at the relay, one battle group should be more than enough. If you have the heavy cruisers positioned to take out anything heavy the moment it comes out of the relay, with missile destroyers primed to lay down a saturation bombardment of the area, you could take anything short of them throwing literally every ship they had at you. They just have nothing that can stand up to that level of fire power." Hackett looked pleased at the answer. "In that case, Admiral Felix, you're staying here." It seemed to be a random choice, but everyone knew it wasn't. Alejandro Felix's wife was pregnant with their third child, and Hackett didn't want him to have to worry about an operation on top of that. "With that settled, let's get down to business."

Over the next two hours, a plan was hammered out. They decided to keep it simple, as this really wasn't the time to have something go wrong due to overly complicated orders. In the end, they went with a "straight for the jugular" plan. The fleet would blaze straight through Citadel space, not staying in any one system any longer than they had to, and get to the Citadel itself as quickly as possible. Since they had downloaded all the relay maps from the Turian ships, they knew the fastest route possible to their objective. When they got to the citadel, they would force the Council to negotiate. The _Avalon_ had brought a negotiation team along from Earth for just that purpose, and hopefully they could end everything before a full scale war broke out.

Just before they were going to break up the meeting, the _Avalon_'s AI, named after the ship like all ship AIs are, spoke up. "Admirals, a ship has been spotted exiting the relay. We believe it to be an STG ship. Since the STG is a Salarian organization, the Turians have obviously gone to the Council for help." Hackett seized the opportunity for more up to date intelligence, and ordered the ship disabled, but not destroyed. "Have a frigate go in afterwards and secure it. Let's see if we get anything new." After the ship was disabled, they decided to go ahead and bring in the fighters as they would be leaving very soon.

Another 15 minutes passed before they got another update. "Admirals, the hacker AIs have finished retrieving the most recent data. It seems that the Turians did in fact go to the council, using our use of nuclear weapons to justify a full scale invasion. A fleet is currently gathering at the Citadel, however given the combat data I have access to any fleet they could gather without leaving anything over exposed is insufficient to win against what we will be sending." After all the Admirals agreed, they sent out the necessary orders to the fleet to start it moving. It was time to show the Citadel Council just what humanity was capable of.

Codex:

_Battle Groups:_ In the System Alliance Navy, the battle group is the primary administrative unit. They contain one carrier, two assault carriers, four heavy cruisers, four missile destroyers, six destroyers, and twenty frigates. A standard fleet is made up of three battle groups, however that is only nominal and changes depending on the situation. There are currently twenty battle groups in the Alliance Navy, with three assigned to Home Fleet, two to inner system security, six to frontier security, and nine in reserve.

AN: Again, please rate and review.

Reviews

ultimate idiot: The Alcubierre drive works around that problem. Instead of making the ship go faster than the speed of light, it makes the space the ship occupies go faster than the speed of light. There are no laws putting a limit on how fast space itself can move (in fact it is theorized that after the Big Bang space expanded at about 1.5 light years per day), so the only limit is how much you can warp space. The ship itself isn't actually moving.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Matriarch Lidanya looked out over the gathering fleet. It had taken a couple days, but the last ships were finally arriving. Not including the _Destiny Ascension_, there were 17 dreadnoughts, 47 cruisers, and 136 frigates. It really was a massive fleet, but she wondered if it was really necessary. All the intelligence stated that they were going up against a primitive race, who were only able to win any fights due to their use of nuclear weapons. This made her wonder what exactly was being held back. Supposedly, an STG ship was already in the enemy system, but she hadn't been forwarded any reports, almost as if the ship hadn't reported. But that would be insane, right? Nobody could detect a modified STG cruiser unless it wanted to be seen.

For the moment, she put those thoughts out of her mind, as she went back to planning what the fleet would do. Given the lack of solid intelligence, she was assuming that it would be a trap, and allowed for there to be twice as many enemy ships as she had been told there were, and planned on them being on level with the average Citadel ship. Of course, if the Council ever saw her plans, they would wonder just what she was doing, as these were obviously primitives, but Lidanya hadn't become the commanding officer of the _Ascension_ for being bad at her job. She knew that no matter what she planned, something else would happen, and so she planned on things being as bad as possible.

While she was going over what data they had on the enemy system, her sensor officer started shouting. "Ma'am, I've got unidentified ships exiting the relay! Profile matches what the Turians got. System is analyzing now. It looks like- By the Goddess! 35 ships dreadnought size and above, nothing as big as the _Ascension_ though, 50 oversized cruisers, and 100 frigates. We may have numerical superiority, but it's not by much, and the only ship bigger than their dreadnoughts is the _Ascension_." Lidanya immediately started giving out orders; launching fighters, moving the frigate wolf packs into position, and getting the cruisers to screen the dreadnoughts. When she looked at her monitor though, she paled. Out of the enemy fleet poured fighters. When the count finally stabilized, there was over 1200 fighters, and from what she knew each one of them was armed with nuclear weapons. She was just glad the Council hadn't moved to the _Ascension_ yet. As she watched the enemy formation though, she noticed something off. They weren't advancing at all. "Ma'am, incoming transmission." Lidanya had it played for the entire bridge crew to hear. "To the Citadel Council, this is Admiral Steven Hackett of the System Alliance Navy. We have come to begin negotiations, however if you decline we will consider it an act of war on the part of all Council races, and will retaliate as such. You have two hours to respond. Hackett out."

Lidanya immediately opened a channel to the Council. "Councilors, have you been updated on the situation?" At their affirmative, she played the message they had received. "In my opinion, it would be best to accept. We know they arm their ships with nuclear weapons, and from what we've seen they are very powerful. Given the current conditions, I would say that the current enemy fleet has a 60 percent chance of beating us with minimal casualties, and another 25 percent chance of beating us with medium to severe casualties. I would say our fleet only has a 15 percent chance of beating them, and even then we would most likely lose the _Ascension_ along with most of the dreadnoughts. Given that they had this many ships they were willing to throw into an offensive operation, we cannot leave out the possibility that they have many more ships for defense." The Council acknowledged her suggestion and said they would think about it, and that they would have an answer by the end of the time limit. Lidanya only hoped that they opened negotiations.

In the Council chambers, an argument was started the moment Lidanya was off the line. Sparatus wanted to just attack, Tevos wanted to open negotiations, and Valern was sitting back watching. In the end, it was Valern who came up with the best solution. "Why don't we open negotiations, and if they are not willing to comply with our demands then we use the diplomats as hostages? That way they couldn't kill us, and if we placed them on the _Destiny Ascension_ then they wouldn't target it. They would be forced to retreat, we could bring in more ships, and attack." Grudgingly, both Sparatus and Tevos agreed, and they started talking about just who they should let come. In the end, they settled on a maximum of three diplomats could come, with two bodyguards per diplomat. They had to come on an unarmed shuttle, and only the guards were permitted weapons. Even then, they would only permit a maximum of two guards in the actual Council chamber, and all others would have to wait outside. They sent Lidanya the message to relay to the alien fleet, and waited for a response.

As it happens, Alliance High Command had anticipated something along the lines of what was being demanded of them, and had prepared a response. They simply indicated that there were no unarmed shuttles in the entire fleet, and that it was Alliance law that all diplomats on foreign territory have at least one bodyguard with them at all times (even in negotiations). As it happens, they didn't even have to lie seeing as both those statements were true. In the end, The council modified their demands to be one shuttle with no ammunition (which was laughed at, seeing as there would be no way for the Citadel to detect that the particle accelerators were loaded), and the diplomats could have one bodyguard each in the Council chambers. The others would still have to stay outside.

* * *

I was sitting in the briefing room, with a platoon of Marine Special Forces in front of me, along with the diplomatic team. I had no clue why I had been called to the _Avalon_, and furthermore why I was in with the diplomatic team, so I decided to wait it out. After a couple minutes of waiting, Admiral Hackett himself walked in. "Admiral on deck!" As one, I stood at attention with the MSF team. "At ease." Hackett walked to the front of the room as we all sat down. "Most of you know why you're here, but for Lieutenant Shepard I will go over it again. The Citadel has accepted our call for negotiations, however they made a few demands. A maximum of three diplomats, two bodyguards per diplomat, and only one bodyguard per diplomat in the Council chamber. Also, there may only be one shuttle, no escort, and the shuttle can't have ammunition. As you can tell, we are going to bend the rules. The shuttle won't have any missiles, as that is a blatant disregard for the conditions, however the particle accelerators will be completely online since they don't use ammunition. There will only be six guards, but the rest of you will be in the shuttle as a reaction force if things go wrong. The pilot will be Lieutenant Shepard back there, who some of you may know from his time as an N7 designated marine. The guards will consist of two fire teams, with one going in with the diplomats. The reaction force will have one squad outfitted for heavy combat, one for light combat, and the remaining two fire teams outfitted for stealth. Any questions?" There were none, so he dismissed us and I went to the shuttle I would be flying.

As I studied it, I could see that it had a few modifications from the standard shuttle, as it seemed heavier almost, and it had a hump on its back that a normal shuttle didn't. A technician came up to me, and started talking about what everything was. As it happens, there was an extra one and a half centimeters of armor on it, and the bulge was a latest generation emissions sink if a stealth get away was needed. I got in the shuttle, and started pre-flight check. Like all pilots in the Alliance Navy, I was cross trained so that If needed I could fly just about anything short of a frigate, as the Alliance liked being prepared. As I started up the checks, I contacted the _Avalon_'s AI, and had it transfer Greg over from my fighter. Being an AI, he had access to all the information he needed to be an AI for a shuttle, and so did his part of the pre-flight. By the time I finished, the MSF platoon was in the back along with the diplomats, and I received clearance to go. I took off, and set a course for the docking bay indicated by the council.

AN: Again, please rate and review.

Codex:

_Marine Special Forces:_ MSF was established as the primary Special Forces unit for the Alliance Navy and Marine Corps. They are trained to be able to do anything, from sabotage, to assassination, to front line fighting, to stealth reconnaissance. Their armor is very modular, allowing for a variety of "load outs" used in different situations.

_S-483 "Pegasus" Variable Use Shuttle_: The Pegasus is the primary shuttle used by the Alliance Navy and Marine Corps. It has many variations, however the base hull is 40 meters long, 8 meters wide (with a further wingspan of 45 meters), and 7 meters tall. The main configurations are a transport shuttle and assault shuttle, with others including stealth, command, and Special Operations.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

About half way to the Citadel, I saw two fighters peel away from their formation and come towards the shuttle. I knew they were probably just an escort, but had Greg plot interception courses and escape routes just in case. As it happens, I was right, and they just flew up to me and stationed themselves just off my the wings. I continued on, and landed in the designated docking area. I could tell they were surprised at the size of the shuttle, and that they weren't really ready for it seeing as there were personnel moving support equipment as fast as they could to make room for the shuttle. I patiently hovered the shuttle on it's VTOL jets, and gently set it down when I had enough room. As the MSF team and the diplomats prepared to exit the shuttle, I did a 360 degree check using the shuttles sensors. I had done this already while hovering, but it never hurt to check again. As it happens, I picked up two mor esniper teams and relayed their positions to the MSF team. That made 6 teams so far, not exactly what one would expect from a friendly meeting. I also relayed the sensors count of the number of non-hidden personnel back, which came up at only 20. Then again, this was supposed to be negotiations. I still kept the particle accelerator turret hidden in each wing primed just in case.

* * *

Orla Glauco stepped out of the shuttle with two of her Marines by her side. Lieutenant Vang had decided that her squad would be the one being split, with half guarding the diplomats and the other half being suited up for stealth. He would personally command the half that was staying behind, so that there would be a clear authority figure with the guard force if the shit hit the fan. Being her squad's CO, she was that authority figure. As she got to the bottom of the ramp, a C-Sec officer stepped up to her. "Are you the diplomats? I was under the impression there would be guards." She turned to face him, automatically marking targets on her helmets display. She would take no chances. "No, we aren't the diplomats. They will only be exiting the shuttle when your sniper teams stand down." The officer was clearly shocked, but he recovered quickly. "I assure you, that any snipers are only for your own protection. Personally, I was just told to escort you to the Council, so I don't know about any other security arrangements present. I will contact my superiors about this if that is okay with you?" She gave him the affirmative, and waited for him to come back. She knew that there was no chance he didn't know about the snipers, and that he was really just stalling for time. Still, it allowed her to look around for herself, noting cover positions, lines of fire, and fatal funnels. She marked everything and put it up on the platoon data network.

She also took the time to think about their pilot. She knew that there was more to him that was said, seeing as he was an N7. Most people thought that the N designations was linear, that after enough time you would graduate to the next level. That wasn't true. The N designations were a combination of elite training and natural ability, and as far as she knew no one above N5 had ever not been in MSF. What was even stranger was that she had never heard of Shepard before. N7s were legends, the elite of the elite. The people who knew how to fight on an instinctual level. The first time she had seen Sargent Anthonsen, her platoon sergeant, in a training exercise, she had been amazed. She herself was an N6, but there was no way she could come anywhere close to the skill displayed by the Staff Sargent. Then there was the fact that in the briefing room, she thought she had seem Anthonsen actually stiffen when he heard Shepard's name. No one got ha reaction out of him, so what was different about Shepard?

All these thoughts were dismissed when she got the signal from said pilot that the sniper teams had stood down. They were still there, but they weren't in position to shoot. As she saw the C-Sec officer coming back, she signaled for the diplomats and other three guards to come out. Leading the trio was Donnel Udina, a politician to the core, but absolutely loyal to humanity. Exactly what was needed at the moment. Seeing the diplomats exit the shuttle, the officer indicated to follow him, and the group of humans complied. Of course, he didn't realize that all six guards had perfect shots on him and the other C-Sec personnel around, and if all went well he would never know.

* * *

Donnel Udina frowned at the sight of the presidium. From what he could see, there were almost exclusively Asari, Salarians, and Turians around, with a only a smattering of the other species he knew to be part of the Citadel Council. His political mind took everything in, and came to the conclusion that this would be more difficult that he had thought. Given what he was seeing, it seemed that the species on the Council itself had a superiority complex the size of a large planet. Not a good thing. As they reached the tower that the Council chambers were in, he noticed that the C-Sec officer was watching him intently. No doubt, he was waiting on some sign of surprise from the experienced politician. Even without his political training though, it wasn't that impressive. He knew that humanity could build a station even bigger that the Citadel if they wanted to, it was simply that nobody saw a reason to do it. It was the same with those five kilometer dreadnought plans the navy had created. They simply weren't efficient enough for the modern day.

The group reached the bottom of the tower, and the guards behind him peeled off to stand by the door to the tower, while the three in front of him went with the diplomats into the elevator. After a ridiculously long ride up, they finally reached the Council chambers. As he stepped out of the elevator, he saw his bodyguards tense, and noted the eight soldiers in the room. From the look of them they were probably Spectres, if the data from the Turian ships was right. He kept his face impassive, even though he really wanted to frown at them. Nobody in the Alliance Government liked the idea of the Spectres, they simply had too much power. Still, they were there, and there was no way he could get rid of them at this late a time. He walked forward, with the other diplomats just behind him, and stopped in the middle of the room. Let the negotiations begin.

An: Again, please rate and review.

Codex:

_N Designations:_ The N program was created as a way of categorizing the skill of various soldiers in the Alliance Marine Corps. N levels 1-3 can be achieved by enough training, but beyond that there are other factors that determine level. To progress beyond N3, a Marine must be an extremely skilled fighter, as well as go through even more training. Most high level NCOs are N3-5, while anyone N5 and above is typically asked to join MSF. There have been rumors of people who are on the watch list for N7 candidacy who mysteriously disappear. There are many theories, the most prevalent being that they die in training, but no one knows for sure.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"I am Ambassador Donnel Udina, and these are Diplomats Garsea Brewer and Krystof Lugus. Our goal is to end the current hostilities between the Turian Hierarchy and the Human Systems Alliance, as well as establish peaceful relations with the Citadel Council as a whole." The three Councilors looked between each other, before the Asari one started speaking. "I am Councilor Tevos of the Asari Republics, and these are Councilors Valern and Sparatus of the Salarian Union and the Turian Hierarchy respectively. While your goals are noble, there are a few other things that must be discussed as well, such as your breaking of Council law." _And here we go_, Udina thought to himself. "I don't see how that is applicable. Council laws do not apply to Humanity, as we are not in any way part of or affiliated with the Council. As such, that has no bearing on what we are here to do. The Turian patrol fleet led by one Desolas Arterius attacked a Human Systems Alliance Relay Containment Force with no provocation. If the Turian Hierarchy was on its own, with no superior body, we would have declared war. As it is, if these negotiations are not prosperous enough, we still might, especially given the STG ship we disabled and captured before leaving our colony." That sent a rumble through everyone in the room. No one catches an STG ship if it doesn't want to be seen, that's just how things were. The Council in particular had shocked looks on their faces, though it passed too quickly for anyone who didn't have diplomatic training to see.

Things went back and forth all day, with both sides putting their version of events out, then the other correcting it. A very basic history of both sides was introduced, though the Council didn't know that Humanity already had the entire Codex in their hands. By the end of the day, very little had actually been accomplished, though a good framework had been laid down. Overall, when Udina left the Citadel to return to the _Avalon_, he was quite pleased. When he returned to the _Avalon_, Alliance High Command was already on the line waiting for a debrief of the situation. "Overall, negotiations are going well. A framework has been established and we are ready to start talking about just what will be happening. I expect that we will get the offer to join sometime tomorrow, though I will hopefully stall it enough for some work to actually get done. We have no clue what will happen when we decline, though I don't expect it to be good." One of the civilian members spoke up, "What can you tell us about their government?" Udina grimaced, "Just as arrogant as we expected. I only spoke with the Council, and never once was I so much as introduced to the ambassadors from the other species. To add to that, they were quite shocked when I revealed we caught their STG ship, though they hid it well. Overall, I recommend that we go for resource trading, and nothing more. If we did do more than that, they could tie us up in so much red tape that we would have no option but to join, and as we all know that would be a disaster."

* * *

Behind the main Council chamber, there was a small room unknown to the general populace of the Citadel species. It was simply called the backroom, and this was where the Council made all the really important decisions. Currently, all three were deep in thought. The long silence was broken by Tevos, stating the question that was on the mind of all three. "Should we ask them to join?" Valern was the first to respond, "Yes. Their technology is so different, who knows what they could do. Plus, it will let us have some degree of control over them. If we don't, who knows what they could end up doing." Sparatus agreed, saying, "We need to curb their military. They use nuclear weapons for anti-fighter purposes, and call ships larger than dreadnoughts "heavy cruisers". If we were to go to war, we would probably overrun them in the end, but it would be bloody and would cost most of our forces. The only way I see of controlling them is bringing them under our laws." Tevos nodded, "Then it is agreed. When should we ask them? In my opinion it would be better to get the current negotiations over with, so there is less tension." The other two quickly agreed, and they all dispersed to their various suites for the night.

* * *

Admiral Hackett looked over the intelligence report for that day. While negotiations were occurring, a spread of heavily stealthed drones was released to gather more information. Most of what they got was already known, but there was still a few things that was learned. The first was that the massive flagship of the Citadel Defense Fleet, the _Destiny Ascension_, wasn't as dangerous as originally thought. While it was big, all it would take was a few heavy missiles detonating in the massive hole through the ship to destabilize its drive. There was also the take from the AI infiltration probes that had been launched at the Citadel, and that was really worrying. Apparently, they detected some form of dormant AI on the station, and from all counts it had a timer that was set to wake it up in a number of years. The infiltrators decided to not stop the timer, as that might be detected, but instead slowed it down to the point that it would activate the AI in about another 2.8 million years. Plenty of time to figure out just what the thing is. He forwarded everything to Alliance High Command, and stood up from his chair on the _Avalon_'s flag bridge. He turned to his chief of staff, and said, "I'm turning in, let me know is anything happens." The commander nodded, and Hackett left the bridge to go to his quarters. According to Udina, tomorrow would be a very interesting day. Just what type of interesting it would be was yet to be seen, and Hackett really didn't want to be too tired to think straight if it was the bad kind.

AN: Finally got the next chapter done. I know it isn't the best chapter out there, but a combination of time to write it and the fact that I am just bad at writing diplomatic scenes all played a part.

AN2: Again, please rate and review.

Codex:

_Alliance High Command:_ Alliance High Command is the current evolution of the UN Security Council. While its name suggests that it is only or the military, it is actually composed of a group of both military and civilian leaders. Overall, High Command has the final say in anything that affects Humanity as a whole.


End file.
